It's been a while
by ErinViolaFreesia
Summary: Erin Stringer is terrified of turning 27 and not accomplishing much in her plain and boring life. That is until someone from her past stumbles back into her life.
1. Shiny Arcanine

Do you remember your childhood crush? The first time your stomach felt icky at the sight of the boy or girl who was in your class? All the other people of the opposite gender were scary or had cooties or were a completely different species but that one person didn't! It's a phase every child must go through...

Did you actually try to talk to them, play hopscotch with them or did you hide from them as much as possible! In my situation, my crush actually walked over to me.

It was back in the first year of junior school, a time which was scary for most kids and to say I was unpopular was a complete understatement! Most girls at seven and eight were into barbies and playing dress-up. I was not like that at all! One day, I was sitting in my own corner of the classroom, drawing my favourite game characters really badly when a loud gasp came from someone in front of me.  
>I looked up through my short blonde hair to find a somewhat timid, dark ginger haired boy staring at my picture. I remembered how bright blue his eyes were as he beamed with delight.<p>

"You like Crash Bandicoot?"

I nodded slowly, I wasn't used to people talking to me.

"Yay" he jumped up and down before eventually calming down "my name's Phillip"

"I'm Erin" I smiled.

It didn't take long for the two of us to become close friends. When everybody else was playing football and kiss chase, we would sit on the field and talk about how far we got into playing Spyro or playing with Pokemon cards. I remembered one time I got really jealous because he got a shiny Arcanine and I didn't!

"I'll let you have it on your birthday" Phillip patted my shoulder warmly.

It was then when my tummy started to feel icky. It didn't take me long to notice it only happened when I was around my friend. I just thought I was allergic to boys! I even asked my mum if she could take me to the doctors but she just laughed at me. She just told me that I would be fine and I shouldn't let me feeling icky ruin my Pokemon matches with Phillip.

One day when I set off to school, my Pokemon cards in my hand ready, only to be greeted by my sad looking friend...

"You're leaving?" I stared at Phillip sadly.

"Yeah" he nodded "dad got a new job so we have to go"

"You have to go to a new school?" I asked him.

"Yeah" he nodded glumly.

I sat and fiddled with the blades of grass in front of me. I didn't want him to go!

"Don't worry" Phillip sprinkled some blades of grass on my head "I'll see you soon!"

"Will you?" I squeaked happily, brushing the green grass off my head.

"Yeah" he laughed "I have to give you Arcanine for your birthday remember!"

"Oh yeah!" I laughed as Phillip hugged me.

But he didn't give that card, in fact I never saw that blue eyed boy after that... Mum told me that he was just too far away and he went so my icky tummy would be cured. That made me feel so much worse! I didn't even know his number or address so there was no way I could keep in touch with him. Isn't it horrible when that happens...

It still makes me laugh that even now, twenty years later, I still occasionally think about my old friend Phillip and his Pokemon cards. It really was a shame that I hadn't seen him...


	2. Is that a trick question?

"Erin, don't forget rent's due tomorrow!"

I rolled my eyes as I entered the shabby apartment building and was immediately met face to face with my grumpy landlord. I hid my blue eyes under my dark brown hair.

"I wont forget Mr Lawrence" I spoke as sweet as I could possibly sound "Like I didn't forget last month or the month before"

He slowly nodded at me before allowing me to proceed towards my front door. I didn't blame him for being so touchy when it came to money. Most of the tenants used to either steal from him or just didn't bother to pay rent. I just wished he'd give the good ones a break! I knew a few people who moved out because he would creep them out! I grabbed my keys out of my brown satchel and entered my one-bedroom apartment.

It wasn't the prettiest of places, not by a long shot! It was cheap, and I needed to move out from my mum's quickly. Mum was never the same after dad left her for her sister, awkward I know! She resorted to booze and the arms of other men and she pretty much forgot that I existed…

The walls that were stained yellow thanks to the smokers that used to live here were now painted a cream colour and were littered with old photos of friends, family and pets. We weren't allowed to drastically decorate the apartment so it had to do! My small flat-screen TV sat in the corner of the room, along with my PS1, Wii and Sega Mega Drive. A long dark brown sofa took up the wall by the door. I slumped onto the sofa and put on the Simpsons, throwing my satchel onto the floor. It was just a day like any other. I got up, had a coffee, walked to work, had a coffee, bored to death at work, had another coffee and headed home. Sadly, this had become quite the routine over the past five years…

KNOCK, KNOCK

Right on cue…

"Evening!" chirped a voice from the front door.

"Hey" I called to my friend Faith, who lived in the apartment next to me.

She wandered in her pug onesie, her long blue hair poking out of the hood.

"Having fun there?" she laughed, walking over to the kitchen and grabbing two mugs out of the cupboard.

"Always do" I stretched before getting up and putting the kettle on.

Faith had lived here for two years before I showed up. I remembered when I first entered the apartment she told me to run as fast as I could! I joked that I ran for no one and that's kind of how our friendship started. We kept each other sane in this dump!

"No Dan tonight?" I asked her as I filled her Jack Skellington mug with hot water.

"Not tonight" she responded, handing me my Sonic mug. "He's out with friends"

"Wait" I joked "The guy who stays in his apartment all day has friends?"

"I know!" Faith giggled.

Dan Howell was Faith's boyfriend. I was there when she first saw him at Shakeaway. She was working there when he ordered his drink, turning her into a stuttering wreck. I just sat on the chair giggling as Faith tried and failed to play it cool. Her nervousness obviously paid off as he became quite the regular after that! It took a few visits before Dan asked for Faith's number and they eventually realised how great they were together! They've been together for a year and are still going strong.

"Well, his friend is meant to be staying over mine tonight" Faith stirred her drink.

"Sounds like fun" I joked, grabbing a takeaway leaflet out of the drawer.

"Oh yeah" she snorted before eyeing up the leaflet. "You having takeaway?"

"Yep" I nodded "I'm thinking Chinese tonight, care to join?"

"Is that a trick question?" Faith laughed loudly.


	3. Could it be?

The two of us sat crossed legged on the floor as we tucked into our meal. My mouth watered at my plate which was now covered in shredded crispy duck, chicken fried rice and spring rolls. The pancakes were on a small plate between me and Faith, who had the same as me.

"So let me get this straight" I spoke, picking up a spring roll with chopsticks "you're letting Dan's friend stay over and you've never even met the guy?"

Faith nods with her hand covering her mouth.

"Dan says he's a really nice guy" Faith eventually replied "and I trust him"

"And what if he isn't a nice guy?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Then I kick both of their arses" She shrugged with a mischievous grin on her face "simple!"

The two of us eventually finished our Chinese feast and guzzled a bottle of wine between us; it was a pretty good way to spend a Friday night!

It wasn't until around midnight whilst me and Faith were watching Adventure Time when we could hear laughing coming from outside of the apartment.

"Guess that's them" Faith chirped, standing up quickly.

"Guess so" I yawned.

Faith quickly opened the door to find her boyfriend and his friend laughing and walking up the stairs towards Faiths apartment.

"Keep your noise down will you!" Faith teased "some of us are trying to watch TV"

Dan turned and smiled widely at the sight of Faith. He practically ran down the stairs and wrapped Faith in a loving embrace. She giggled when Dan stroked her blue hair.

I looked down at the floor awkwardly as they held each other. Lifting my head up, my eyes locked with a pair of bright blue eyes. The eyes belonged to a rather tall man, only slightly shorter than Dan. His jet black hair was perfectly styled with a fringe that swept over towards his right eye. He was wearing a black and red plaid shirt and black skinny jeans. I guess this was Dan's friend then!

"Have a fun night in with Grandma?" Dan mocked me, he always joked about the fact that I was always tired.

"Hey!" I snapped in his direction, making the couple laugh.

"Sorry" Dan smirked "anyways you two, this is Phil"

My mind instantly went back twenty years. The bright blue eyes... And his name was Phil...

Could it be?

"Hi" he waved at the two of us.

"Hi, I'm Faith" Faith smiled sweetly at Dan's friend who smiled back.

It couldn't be…

"And you are?"

I blushed when I realised he was talking to me.

"Erm... Erin"

He glanced at me for a little while longer. Was it really him? The boy who I hadn't seen in twenty years!

"Nice to meet you Erm...Erin" Phil grinned widely, holding his hand out to me.

I guess not...

"Good to meet you too" I smiled, shaking his hand.

"Had a good night then?" Dan looked at his girlfriend and grinned at her.

"Yeah it was good" Faith replied "Adventure Time, wine and Chinese, there's nothing better!"

"You like Adventure Time?" Phil asked her.

"Love it" Faith beamed "Erin introduced me to it and now I can't stop watching it!"

Phil glanced at me and smiled widely.

"I think we're going to get on great!" he said.


	4. Phillip?

Lying down on my comfortable double bed and drifting in and out of sleep, my thoughts couldn't help but drift back to Dan's friend. Was it Phillip from school? I mean if it was he looked totally different. His hair was now jet black instead of ginger but his eyes just seemed so familiar! Saying that, I looked nothing like I used to. My short blonde hair was now long and a very dark brown. It would be crazy if it was him…

_KNOCK, KNOCK_

What the?

Maybe it was Faith wanting to hide from Dan and Phil; maybe they were driving her mad! I turned to face my clock on my bedside cupboard.

3am?!

I hopped out of bed and zombie-walked towards the door, wrapping my red fluffy dressing-gown. I slowly opened the door to find a tired looking Phil.

"Hi Er…Erin" Phil smirked awkwardly, making fun of me stuttering earlier.

"Morning?" I spoke sarcastically.

"Dan and Faith are giggling in their room" Phil ran his hand through his black hair. "I felt a bit awkward lying in the living room…"

"Come in" I yawned, opening the door wider so he could enter my apartment.

Normally, I would have been a lot more sceptical about letting someone I hardly knew into my flat but I was just too tired to care.

"Sorry about this" Phil spoke sheepishly "I didn't mean to wake you"

"Didn't mean to wake me at 3am?" I smirked before walking into the kitchen.

"Yeah…" Phil mumbled.

"Don't worry about it" I laughed as Phil took a seat on my sofa "Coffee?"

"This early in the morning?" he quipped. "Wont that keep you up?"

"I drink so much coffee I'm practically immune to caffeine!" I laughed "I have hot chocolate?"

"That would be great thanks!" he leaned his back against the sofa.

I grabbed my sonic mug and a pacman mug and filled them up with hot beverages.

"Thanks" he smiled sweetly at me and he accepted the pacman mug.

Before I forgot, I thought I'd text Faith.

'_Hey Faith, Phil hasn't run away he's hiding at mine xxxx'_

'_Thought you'd like him! ;)' _

'_Shut it Dan it's not like that! Get of Faith's phone :P'_

'_Whatever you say Erin ;)' _

"So" Phil coughed "How long have you been here for?"

"About five years now" I replied, putting my phone on the arm of the chair. "It's not exactly a dream home but it'll do"

"It's nice" he grinned, looking towards my TV "Anywhere that has a Mega Drive is instantly cool!"

"I suppose" I snuggled into my sofa "fancy a game?"

Phil's eyes seemed to brighten in excitement as soon as the question escaped my lips. My stomach twinged at the sight of him. If this wasn't the Phil that I knew the resemblance was fucking terrifying!

After an hour of playing Sonic and ranting at each other about how good each of us were at gaming, tiredness started to sink in. I quickly looked over to Phil who was wiping his eyes with his hand and I had to admit, he looked adorable!

I slowly got up from the sofa and headed to Narnia (the storage cupboard to any normal person!) and grabbed two pillows and a black silky duvet. Phil smiled at me as I placed the bedding on the sofa.

"I can go back you know" Phil spoke, sounding tired. "They've probably fallen asleep"

"If you say so" I shrugged "This is Dan we're talking about, he'll probably still be up at 6am!"

"True" he nodded "This isn't a bother?"

"If it was a bother I wouldn't have let you in in the first place" I ruffled my hair.

I jumped as Phil stood up and pulled me in for a hug. He was very affectionate considering we had only just met!

"What was that for?" I scoffed, still in surprise.

"No reason" he shrugged as he made himself comfortable on the sofa. "Night Er…Erin"

"Night Phillip" I turned away from him, my eyes widening when I realised I had called him by his first name.

"Phillip?" He enquired.

"Sorry" I laughed "No idea where that came from! Night"

"Night" he sniggered.

I eventually headed back into my room, shutting the door behind me.


	5. Saturday

I slowly opened my eyes, the sun peeking through my blinds. I rolled over and looked at the clock.

11:30am

It took me a couple of seconds to remember that I wasn't the only one in the flat. Walking over to my mirror, I scraped my brown hair into a high ponytail and put on my red dressingown. I slowly and carefully opened the door, to make sure not to wake Phil up. This wasn't necessary as Phil was nowhere to be seen.

The bedding was folded up neatly and on top of it was a note.

'Morning Er..Erin!

Thanks for letting me stay over last night (this morning) it was a lot of fun :) I'm back at Dan and Faith's.

Phil xx'

I smiled to myself as I put the bedding back in Narnia and sat down on the sofa. I checked my phone and saw I had a message.

'Good job Phil came back this morning, Dan was going to get you done for kidnap! Xxxx'

'He's such a drama queen! :P xxxx'

I ended up spending the day tidying up the apartment and playing on Spyro which was pretty much what I did every Saturday! I also rang to see if mum was okay but shockingly she didn't answer her phone. I was really beginning to give up on her...

"Erin,Erin,Erin,Erin,Erin,Erin,Erin,Erin"I heard a familiar voice yell from outside my flat.

"Faith,Faith,Faith,Faith,Faith,Faith!" I yelled back.

I was obviously loud enough as Faith entered the flat laughing.

"Good day?" I asked her as I continued to play Sims.

"Not too bad" she smiled, taking a seat next to me "just watching films with Dan and Phil"

"Cool" I nodded as I made my Sim get some lunch.

"Actually they've been driving me nuts" Faith laughed "could do with some female company to keep me sane"

"So that's why you came round" I smirked.

"That and I wanted the gossip" Faith shut my laptop, making me give her a dirty look. "What was going on with you and Phil last night?"

"Nothing was going on" I shrugged "he felt a bit awkward at yours so he came round"

"And nothing happened?" Faith winked at me.

"Nothing like what you're thinking" I blushed "we just talked and played on Sonic"

"Well you must have done something right" Faith stretched "Phil hasn't shut up about you all day!"

"Really?" I looked at her in surprise, a feeling of warmth rushing through me.

"Yes" she beamed "that's why I'm inviting you around mine, we'll eat, drink and watch shitty films"

"I don't know Faith" I shrugged.

"I'm not taking no for an answer" she practically sang.

I knew full well that Faith wouldn't take no for an answer. When I said no to a night out before she pestered me for hours on end until I gave in.

"Fine" I sighed.

Faith cheered as she dragged me out of my comfy chair and into her apartment.

Dan and Phil were sprawled on the floor playing Mario Kart 8 as me and Faith entered the apartment. I tried what I could to ignore my quickening pulse at the sight of Phil.

"Hey Er...Erin" Phil cried as he continued to look at the screen.

"Hey" I replied, taking a seat next to Faith on her black leather corner sofa.

"No kidnapping Phil tonight!" Dan joked, making Phil laugh.

"I won't" I laughed.


	6. It is you!

In the time it took for Dan and Phil to stop playing Mario Kart, me and Faith had ordered pizza and had helped ourselves to two beers each. The only reason they stopped was when the pizza arrived. Dan rushed and stole my seat as I grabbed the pizza boxes leaving a spot on the floor next to Phil. As I sat down, I felt a foot poking me in the back. I turned to find Dan moving his head in his friend's direction and winked at me. I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head before sorting out everyone's pizza.

"Right" Faith spoke as she grabbed a slice of pepperoni "Let's play a game"

"Do we have to?" I laughed whilst munching on my pizza.

"Yes" she shook her head at me.

"But pizza!" I groaned.

Dan and Phil both sniggered at my response.

"Relax" Faith giggled "It's nothing physically demanding"

"Thank God" Dan laughed.

* * *

><p>"Okay Faith" I spoke, my stomach now full of pizza "What was your first celebrity crush?"<p>

"Erin" Faith grumbled after taking a sip of beer "You already know that!"

"Maybe…" I grinned "But these two don't"

"Bitch" Faith laughed, hesitating before saying her answer "Rupert Grint…"

This answer caused Dan and Phil to start laughing which made Faith turn bright red.

"Hey" Faith snapped "He's not that bad! Besides, Erin loved Thackeray Binks!"

"No way!" Phil laughed even louder.

"Thanks for that Faith!" I smirked "But in all fairness I was like five years old when I first saw Hocus Pocus and just to point out she meant the human Binks not the cat!"

"Well you do love cats…" Dan remarked.

"Shockingly, not like that Dan" I laughed.

"Well I think that's Erin's question done" Dan took a bite of his pizza "Phil, who was your first best friend? Other than me obviously!"

Phil sat and thought to himself for a moment in complete silence.

"Well… I didn't have many friends when I was younger there was one"

I glanced up at him briefly before continuing to eat.

"She was awesome" he grinned to himself "We'd play Pokémon, talk about Spyro, help each other out on Crash Bandicoot. I mean finding a girl my age who liked gaming at the time was as rare as a rare Pokémon! But she was great and funny and sweet. But, I left and I never saw her again…"

"It is you!" I blurted. My heartbeat rocketing at a lightning speed.

Faith, Dan and Phil all looked over to me. Dan and Faith looked confused whereas Phil looked shocked. He eyed me up and down and his eyes widened.

"Erin…" Phil spoke slowly "As in Erin Stone?"

A wave of warmth ran through me as he said my last name. It really was him!

Phil's look of surprise increased as I nodded.


	7. Tell me about it!

It took a few moments for the news to sink in for Phil. It didn't take as long for me, given the fact I had a feeling that it was him.

Next thing I knew, I was pulled into a tight hug.

"Oh my God" Phil exclaimed "It's really you!"

"Yeah" I laughed breathlessly as he hugged me tighter.

He pulled back with a big smile on his face.

"But you look so different" Phil gasped, still looking visibly shocked.

"Well two decades will do that to you" I grinned "And says you, where's the ginger hair gone?"

"It's still here" he laughed, ruffling his hair "It's just well hidden"

"So you two were best friends in primary school?" Faith asked.

"Yeah" we both smiled widely.

"That's so weird" Dan sniggered in surprise.

"Tell me about it!" I laughed.

We spent the next few hours watching The Walking Dead. Dan and Faith were cuddled up on the sofa whilst Phil and I remained on the floor. Phil and I were trying to talk and catch-up but Dan kept snapping at us because we were disturbing the programme. After a few episodes, I eventually looked up and turned to see the happy couple fast asleep. Dan lay with his head rested on the arm of the sofa whilst Faith was cuddled up to him, her head rested on his chest.

"Didn't think we were that bad for company" I smirked at Phil, who was still watching TV. "Anyway, I better head off"

Phil's eyes immediately moved from the TV to face me.

"You're not leaving me here with them two are you?" He whined.

"You chose to stay over" I rolled my eyes as I stood up, rubbing my tiring eyes.

"But they're asleep on my bed" he moaned "Besides, I've just found my best friend who I haven't seen for twenty years, a proper catch-up is definitely overdue!"

My pulse was quickening at his words, how the hell did seven year old Erin cope with this? This was awful!

"Fine" I laughed "But I refused to be accused of kidnap this time!"

Phil rapidly jumped to his feet and followed me to my apartment.


	8. Scarecrow Hair

"Erin Stone" Phil shook his head and smiled as he sat on my sofa "I still can't believe it's you"

I smirked as I handed him a cup of Hot Chocolate before taking a seat next to him.

"Come on" I laughed, "My name's Erin and my flat is full of computer games, you didn't figure it out from that?"

"There's probably more than one gamer girl in the world called Erin" Phil shrugged. "You didn't recognise me either…"

"Didn't I?" I smirked.

"Wait a minute…" Phil pondered "That was why you called me Phillip last night!"

I nodded, giggling to myself.

"I did wonder" Phil laughed, placing his mug on the table "I only referred to myself as Phillip when I was younger; I thought it sounded cooler than Phil"

"I didn't…" I responded jokingly.

"Hey!" Phil nudged me, making me giggle.

We both then looked at each other in complete silence. It was strange that the silence didn't feel awkward. Looking at him, Phil looked so different but in an odd way, he hadn't changed a bit!

"Didn't you have blonde hair before?" Phil asked quietly.

"I did" I blushed, unsure of why I was feeling really warm, it maybe due to the fact that my childhood crush was sitting close to me.

"Yes" he smiled "you hated it if I remember rightly"

"I did" I repeated "The girls used to say I had scarecrow hair!"

"We did go to school with some really horrible people" Phil shook his head and smirked.

"Yeah…" I mumbled.

After Phil left, I was completely alone at school. Unfortunately, I became the target of the school bullies. I'd get called a loner, a freak, scarecrow hair, monster face, fatty etc. I resorted to hiding in the school toilets when the violence became physical…

"What's wrong?" Phil asked me softly.

"School flashback…" I grumbled.

Phil placed his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me reassuringly.

"I know they used to call you names…" Phil sighed.

"It got worse after you left…"

"Jeez" he smirked "Make me feel worse why don't you!"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Phil did the same as he stroked my arm.

"Children are evil. We were the only nice ones there Erin" he beamed "you shouldn't have let it get to you"

"I know" I nodded "Besides, I'm nearly twenty-seven, and I shouldn't still be feeling down about it"

"Of course it's still going to affect you" Phil spoke sweetly "bullying has that effect on people"

Phil suddenly moved off the sofa and grabbed my laptop off the coffee table.

"What are you doing?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to make you feel better about yourself" he smiled.

"Erm… okay?" I laughed uneasily.

"Relax Erin" he laughed as he logged onto his Facebook.


	9. Why are we doing this?

"Okay" Phil smiled as he logged into his Facebook account "Who should we pick first?"

I shrugged my shoulders and slouched on the sofa. I didn't have Facebook for this reason. I mean I had one before but because my surname was different to my old one and I looked totally different from what I used to, nobody would add me so what was the point?

"Why are we doing this?" I groaned.

"Don't you want to see how our fellow classmates are doing?" he remarked with a cheeky grin on his face.

I shook my head in response.

"It'll be fun" he laughed at me, nudging my arm "Come on, who used to call you 'scarecrow hair'?"

"Paige Dennis" I grumbled, unsure about Phil's experiment.

"Okay" he beamed as he typed her name into the search bar.

I jumped as Phil laughed to himself.

"Well if it makes you feel better, her hairs all fake" Phil smirked "And she also unemployed and has three kids"

With curiosity taking over, I eyed the computer screen. Phil wasn't wrong. On the profile picture, Paige stared wide-eyed with her bleached blonde hair sticking out all over the place; it was obvious that she was wearing extensions. She was holding onto one of her kids while the other two were sitting on the floor. I glanced over at the 'about' section and it did say that she's unemployed. I looked up to see Phil smiling down at me, making my stomach flip, just like it did when I was younger. I couldn't help but smile back.

"I swear Paige used to have black hair" I looked at the screen again.

"I guess she was jealous of someone's blonde hair" Phil grinned.

"I know what you're doing Phil" I shook my head and smiled to myself.

"You can search for the next one then" he leant back into the sofa.

"Fine" I rolled my eyes as I typed the next name.

Phil looked at the screen and his eyes widened at the person looking back. His hair was dark brown and was spiked up all over the place. His dark grey eyes stood out of his very pale face.

"Dale Edwards?" Phil looked over at me "He used to pick on you?"

"You're kidding right?" I huffed, giving Dale's profile picture a filthy look "He was the worst one!"

"Erin, he used to have the biggest crush on you!" Phil raised an eyebrow at me.

"Bullshit" I retorted, not believing a word of it.

"It's true" Phil laughed "He used to talk about you all of the time in class!"

"Yeah" I answered "Well nothing says 'be my girlfriend' like a punch in the face…"

"Wait what?" Phil's face suddenly got serious.

"Oh yeah" I nodded "But look, his girlfriend has put that he'll be out of prison in a weeks time"

Phil snatched the laptop and started to search for more names but I shut the laptop before he could.

"Don't bother Phil" I smirked, "we'd be here all night if we carried on like this"

"You were bullied that much?" Phil looked deep into my eyes. "They didn't bother you when I was there. It was just you and me"

I shrugged in response.

I sighed as Phil pulled me in for a hug, blushing as Phil stroked my back.

"I had no idea" Phil muttered "I'm sorry"

"Don't worry about it" I replied "like you said, you didn't know"

We just stayed silent, Phil still holding onto me. Normally I would find this very awkward but for some reason I didn't feel it. It was if Phil never left and I had my best friend all along.

"Do you get what I was trying to do?" Phil asked me.

"Yeah" I nodded.

Phil pulled back with a small smile on his face.

"You just needed to know that the idiots that made you feel down aren't as perfect as they made out to be" Phil soothed.

"I guess" I sighed.

"They were probably jealous of how awesome you were" he smiled sweetly at me "I mean you completed Spyro 3 in two days!"

"Just because you thought it was cool didn't mean everything did" I sniggered.

"Maybe" Phil smirked.

I really didn't want to talk about this anymore. I had spent years attempting the repress the memories of the bullying and Phil was just bringing it up. That wasn't his intention and I knew that, actually it was really sweet of him to try and help! Hopping off the sofa, I moved over to the DVD and games shelf and picked a certain game. Hiding my hands behind my back, I moved towards Phil.

"Pick a hand?" I looked over at Phil.

He raised an eyebrow before gently touching my right arm. I blushed when I noticed that he didn't move his hand straight away. I smiled goofily like a child when I revealed that my hand was empty. He attempted to look behind me but I shuffled away giggling. I squealed as he unexpectedly grabbed me by the waist and dragged me onto the sofa. Phil joined in with the laughter as he tried to grab what was in my hands. I blushed as his hands moved back to my waist.

"Okay, okay" I sniggered, trying to keep my cool "Here"

I passed the game over to Phil, whose smile widened when he saw what it was.

"You play" I smirked, turning red as I was still leant up against him "I'll wind you up and tell you how to get all of the gems"

"Just like old times" Phil laughed.


	10. Author's Note

**Hello! **

**Thanks for the favourites, follows and reviews on 'It's been a while' so far :D **

**I thought I'd let you know that I'm currently putting this story on hold as I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to go with this story yet- if you have any ideas, please don't hesitate to PM me!**

**I will update this as soon as possible but at the meantime I have some ideas for some new fanfics which I do need some help with some characters so if you fancy helping a girl out, check out the story, "LITTLE HELP PLEASE!" **

**Thank you! :D xxx **


	11. Rubbish Memory

**Huge thanks to ConsultingTimeLadyFromHogwarts for giving some great ideas for this story and curing me of my writer's block! *Sends cookie through the power of the internet***

"I always forget one" Phil huffed as Spyro ran cluelessly around in circles.

"It's right by the ice rink" I laughed "like I told you two decades ago!"

"Twenty years is a long time Erin" Phil shook his head and laughed as Spyro caught the last gem, his eyes lit up when it said Colossus was complete.

_'Tell me about it'_ I thought to myself.

"Well you always did have a rubbish memory!" I teased.

"Shut up" Phil laughed.

It was as if we had never left each other, like we did this everyday for past twenty years. Butterflies were violently attacking my stomach as I watched Phil play. I thought that this sickening feeling had completely ceased when he left but I was sorely mistaken! I thought back to the time I cried to my Mum that I was allergic to Phil because I felt weird when I was around him. I couldn't help but laugh at myself for my stupidity.

"What are you thinking about?" I jumped as Phil broke my trail of thought.

"Nothing" I responded rapidly "It's just good to see you"

"You too" Phil smiled sweetly.

Phil looked down at his watch and sighed to himself.

"It's two am" Phil grumbled "I better head back"

"Sure" I smiled, turning the playstation off.

Phil slowly stood up and stomped over towards the front door. He leant against the door and smirked at me as I walked closer to him.

"Other than Dan" Phil stretched "my other friends are too grown up. They talk about their families and their boring jobs"

"Well we are in our late twenties Phil" I shrugged "we are expected to act somewhat mature..."

Phil eyed me briefly before we both started laughing. We both knew full well we were never going to grow up!

Phil pushed himself away from the front door and dragged me into a hug. My heart was beating that fast I was scared that Phil could feel my pulse!

"I have to head back home tomorrow" Phil spoke "sorry it's been a short visit"

"Don't apologise" I laughed "You didn't even know I was here"

"True" he grinned before snatching my phone off me.

"What are you doing?" I yawned.

"Did you really think I was going to leave without giving you my number?" Phil smirked. "You're not getting rid of me a second time!"

"Dammit" I sniggered as Phil handed my phone back to me. Phil nudged me playfully in response.

"See you soon Erin" he looked at me with an adoreable grin before leaving the apartment.


	12. She Spoke!

My hands shook nervously as I logged into Skype. Even though I did this everyday, it still sent my worries into overdrive. I really should have just stopped trying; my mother didn't want anything to do with me anymore but she was my mother and I wasn't going to completely give up on her.

I clicked on Mum's icon, which was the logo for the care home that she was in for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. We were only allowed to visit face to face at the guests request so that meant I never went to see her. I was given permission to Skype her whenever I wanted but it either led to being ignored or the rare occasion where she accepted the call but she said nothing and just stared at me.

My heartbeat raced as the ringing echoed my apartment. It took about three agonising minutes for mum to finally answer. The haggard and exhausted woman leant back into her chair and stared at me with her stone grey eyes. There was no emotion in them; it was as if she was dead. Her long blonde hair stuck out all over the place; along with her waxy skin it made her look life a wax figure.

"Hi Mum" I spoke politely, supressing the heartbreak from within me.

Mum said nothing.

"Sorry it's been a while since I last spoke" I cleared my throat "I did try to call yesterday and all of last week but I didn't get a response"

Still nothing.

I wanted to end the call there and then. I wanted to scream and beg for her to say something, anything but what would that solve? I was told by her advisor to speak about my life and try and make it so she'd ask questions in the hope it'd bring her comfort but I highly doubted it would help.

"Faith says hi" I piped up "You know, the blue haired girl from upstairs. She wishes you well"

The stone grey eyes continued to stare at me, making me feel uneasy.

"Works has been the same old routine. A bit of typing here, a bit of filing there" I squeaked "We have a new manager so that might shake things up I guess"

Mum's empty expression was starting to get to me but I didn't want her to see that.

"I met Phil yesterday" I smiled to myself "You remember Phil Lester from my primary school don't you Mum?"

I groaned as Mum's expression didn't change in the slightest.

"Forget it…" I grumbled, finally admitting defeat.

What was the point? It'd been years and there was no progress. It was painfully obvious that she wanted interested in any aspect of her daughter's life. I moved the cursor over to the red phone, preparing myself to end the call.

"Phillip?" a small voice murmured.

I looked back up at the computer screen in shock and amazement. I hadn't heard Mum's voice in years so it was a huge possibility that I was hearing things. Seeing Mums lack of change in expression enhanced that theory.

"Yes Phillip" I smiled with joy "You remember Phillip?"

It took Mum a moment but she slowly nodded, making my eyes water. This was the most interaction I've had with her since I moved out.

"Well" I continued to talk, trying me best not to cry with joy. "It turns out that Phillip is friends with Faith's boyfriend so we've met up and we're definitely keeping in contact this time!"

Mum's reaction went back to statuesque and practically dead. Well, one step at a time I guess.

"Okay Mum" I stretched, "I'll leave you to it, I suppose you're tired. I'll call you soon okay?"

Mum didn't say goodbye. She didn't stop staring. But she did something that I hadn't seen her do since she found out about dad cheating on her.

She smiled.

I instantly grabbed my phone and dialled a familiar number.

"Hello?" I heard my best friend speak brightly.

"She spoke" I gushed down the phone.

"I'll be right over" Faith cheered.


	13. I knew it!

"So, your Mum responded when you said Phil's name?" Faith asked in astonishment as she poured a glass of wine.

"Yeah" I laughed whilst making a cup of tea, still not entirely sure that I didn't make it up. "It was so weird"

"You don't want a glass?" Faith looked over at me.

"No thanks, teas fine for me" I smiled.

I did drink alcohol but I didn't like to drink whenever we were talking about my Mum; it just made me feel like I was making fun of her. I never told Faith that because I knew she'd feel bad too.

"So you and Phil were close when you were younger then?" Faith asked me as she took a seat on the sofa. "You must have been for your mum to remember him"

"Really close" I took a seat next to her. "As sad as it sounds, he was my only friend when I was a kid. We just spent a lot of time playing video games"

"That sounds familiar" she winked at me "So, was there anything between you two?"

"What? No" I snorted "I was like seven or eight when Phil left"

"Well…" Faith took another sip of wine "Is there something now? Your face is getting redder by the minute"

"No" I protested "I met the guy yesterday after twenty years"

"Whatever you say" she smirked "you can deny it to yourself but it's pretty obvious"

"Whatever" I rolled my eyes as I stirred my tea.

_DING. _

The two of us glanced down at my phone as it lit up that I had a message.

'_**Hey Er…Erin :P**_

_**Just wanted to say it was great catching up with you the other day! Xx'**_

"Aww" Faith nudged my shoulder at the sight of my beetroot face.

"Shut it" I grumbled.

"Come on Erin" she giggled "It's obvious you like him, why don't you suggest that the four of us do something if you're too nervous to say anything straight away"

"There's nothing to be scared of" I shrugged "And I don't like him in that way"

"Bullshit!" Faith lunged for my phone, knocking the both of us off the sofa.

"Faith!" I screeched as she quickly got up and sat on my back so I couldn't get up. "Seriously Faith, get off me"

"I will…" Faith tapped onto my phone "As soon as I'm done"

"Dammit Faith" I grumbled.

"You'll thank me for it" She giggled.

"Doubt it" I grumbled.

Faith eventually stood up, allowing me to get up. She threw my phone at me and grinned to herself, proud of her work.

'_**It was really good catching up with you too :D**_

_**You'll have to let me know when you're back in London we'll have to do something xx' **_

Well, that could have been worse.

"I could have been much worse and you know it" Faith sniggered as we sat back on the sofa.

"I suppose" I shook my head.

_DING! _

Faith immediately snatched my phone and practically skipped over to the other side of the room, squeaking.

"He said he'd love to!" Faith beamed at me.

"Course he did" I tutted as I turned on the TV.

"I mean it" she laughed, throwing my phone at me.

'_**Sure, that would be great! Would love to hang out with you three again xx'**_

"Yes, he'd love to see all of us" I spoke up.

"Maybe he's written that to make it look like he wasn't just coming over to see you" Faith nudged me.

"Or" I cut in "He's put 'all of us' to say that he'll only come over to see all of us. I used the same technique when that creepy guy who used to live downstairs kept asking me out"

"Creepy Carlos?" Faith laughed "Was that why the three of us went rollerblading!"

"Did you really think I was going to go to a roller disco with Creepy Carlos on my own?" I laughed.

"I guess not" she teased, "But it could be different with Phil. I think he genuinely likes you. We'll find out when he gets here wont we."

"I guess" I nodded, taking a sip of my tea.

"Are you going to tell him about your mum?" Faith asked me.

"Oh yeah that'll go well" I sniggered "Guess what Phil, my Mum hasn't spoken to me in years but as soon as she hears your name she responds because I had a crush on you at school…"

I turned beetroot when I realised what I said.

"I knew it!" Faith squealed.

"Fuck off…" I grumbled.

"Come on Erin, its cute" Faith mocked.

"It was just a childhood crush" I responded "Nothing more, nothing less"

"Maybe it was" Faith nodded "But it's more than that now"

"Shut up" I huffed, drinking my tea.

Faith laughed as she put her empty wine glass in my sink before heading towards the front door, patting my head in the process.

"Don't worry, I wont tell Dan" she beamed at me.

"You better not" I huffed.

"Now text him back before he thinks you're ignoring him" Faith laughed before exiting the apartment, shutting the door after her.

I breathed deeply before texting Phil.

'**Great, just let me know when you're free xx' **

It took a matter of seconds for him to text back.

'**Saturday okay? Xx' **

That was soon. I wasn't expecting a visit again so soon! I had to get the apartment look presentable and I need to look more human. Erin, get a hold of yourself, it's Monday. Why was I getting worked up about a friend visiting?

After composing myself, I responded.

'**Fine by me. I'll ask Dan and Faith xx' **

'**Great, can't wait :D xx' **

I looked at the time and huffed to myself. It was eleven O' clock at night and I had work in the morning. O joy of joys! I stomped over to my bedroom and changed into my black vest top and red satin shorts before jumping into bed.


End file.
